26.11.10

in response to Sang, here's a bit of my pantry. I have so many things it's ridiculous, but I really do use most of the ingredients, although some impulse buys tend to linger. Melon seeds from an African spice shop? Really?One thing I stongly recommend is putting everything possible in glass jars. Any empty jam, mayo, peanut butter or honey jar will do. it feels so much better to take your raisins or pine nuts or pimentón out of a glass jar than out of a crinkly packet that spills everything it has failed to keep fresh.

24.11.10

Life is too crazy to keep posting in the usual way, so I´ve decided that at least until the holidays are over, I´m going to change things a little around here. Instead of a weekly, if that, post with a recipe, I´ll post more often, just drawings done on the iPad and uploaded via Flickr. That way I still get to have fun, and don´t feel I´m neglecting any of you dear readers. I hope you enjoy these little digital doodles. Here´s my inspiration.

9.11.10

Illustrating cookbooks is one of my favourite types of work. As is working for friends. When a friend writes a cookbook it´s a wonderful double whammy that makes it the best possible job.

This is "Nami-Nami kokaraamat", or The Nami-nami cookbook, written by Pille, blogger extraordinaire, dear friend and embassador of all things to do with Estonian food.

I haven´t checked out the recipes because the text is in Estonian, so all I can vouch for is one of them, which you can find here.

The recipe I´m sharing to day comes from this video , where Jamie Oliver mentions, in passing, a method for roasting new potatoes in the microwave for four minutes before grilling them for another couple of minutes with olive oil and herbs.

I tried it this morning, heating the grill (broiler over the Atlantic) while the potatoes were in the microwave.

People, this is a keeper. They were great, crunchy crispy outside, soft inside and truly quick. Wonderful. I can´t wait to try it with other vegetables.

2.11.10

You know how it is with restaurant cookbooks; they are irritating, they use the editorial we like it was the royal we, and patronize you right left and centre, insisting it´s no use to do anything unless you have the exact impossible ingredient.However, they can be fun to read, and of course there are a few that actually work as cookbooks, like Moro, or The Zuni Café Cookbook.

Momofuku reads more like a tall tale from your brother´s stoner college roommate. It doesn´t set out to be very useful, and makes no apologies for being restaurant food, but somehow it´s full of good ideas, like these eggs.They´re just poached eggs, cooked in not very hot water for a very long time, which might not seem like a big deal, or even very user friendly, but the fact that you can prepare as many as you want, all at once, and keep them to hand until you need them (within reason, of course) makes it very special. It´s perfect when you have a crazy week and you want to prepare as much ahead as possible. Or for a dinner or a brunch, or any time when you need a lot of poached eggs all at once.You´d better check out this post for the full instructions.